The Troubled Times: Part III
by Justsomeone1
Summary: The final piece of the multi-parter. Draguanus' new weapon is headed towards the Anaheim Pond and not even the U.S. Army can bring it down. All hope rests on Nosedive, the only duck left inside. Can the Mighty Ducks win this battle?


Time had not been good for the Mighty Ducks, the heroes of Anaheim. Draguanus had recently launched a revamped version of a warship originally based on one of his earlier plans. After a humiliating defeat, most villains may have stayed with thoughts to come up with something new, but since the saurian was so attached to the plan, the ducks now had a scourge upon the horizon of the city. The impending fortress continued to drift, slowly but surely, towards its first target, the Anaheim Pond itself. Nobody knew how to stop it, and people began to flee for their lives. Upon the last news updates, the United States government reported that they had sent a counter-force to deal with the threat.  
  
It failed. Not only had over 1,000 soldiers dyed on the sandy plains outside the city, but the government had suffered the loss of over one- hundred million dollars in military vehicles.  
  
The ducks were all gathered in the ready room, agonizingly crawling through every hour of the day and struggling to find ways to counter Draguanus' new weapon. Tanya attempted to break through its shields on a daily basis with some kind of new machine or theoretical principle, but each result was always the same. It had been two days since they had lost Nosedive in the mechanical beast, but they had not heard anything out of the teenager. Everyone had haunting thoughts that the duck had died, but his brother and new confidant held on to the bitter end, refusing to believe the teen would fail them. Often, many hours of the day were spent on the monitors, watching the mechanical beast hover anxiously closer to the urban area. They hoped that Nosedive would appear in someway, or that the metallic deathtrap would fall to the ground with some sudden explosion. Yet, it never happened. It only moved closer and closer, as the ducks struggled to assemble every last weapon they had, fortifying it with hope that they would be able to prove this plan of Draguanus' to be a failure like any other.  
  
Yet, this wasn't just some cartoon, and unlike the other plots, this one already was accompanied by complications holding down the ducks from being at their best. Domestic problems separating brothers had sent their leader into a downward spiral. He became erratic and quiet, his face never moving, his eyes loosing every last glimmer of youthful zeal. He continued to support the team, but never accepted the sympathy or help of the other ducks, though in his eyes, he was silently begging for comfort. Duke had also grown withdrawn from the others, chastising any duck who'd dare even hint at the possibility of Nosedive failing. Tanya was always painted with fatigue, loosing all her sleep and always wrapped up in some hopeful plan or machine that would stop Draguanus. After all, the ducks had always counted on her scientific knowledge in the past, so now she began to criticize herself for not being able to pull through with the situation had become as dire as it was now. Grin, as always, was locked in deep meditation, trying to keep his mind focused, but the conflicts between his teammates clouded his concentration and made it almost impossible to channel his thoughts. Mallory had just watched, wanting to jump into the battle and get it over with, as if she almost expected them to fail but thought it was more humiliating to sit idly by rather then battle to her final breath. The team seemed to be falling apart.  
  
Mallory sighed as she watched the fortress slowly shifting over the desert sands outside the city. At such a slow pace, it would take another three days before reaching the Pond. She knew why had Draguanus made the machine so slow. This was a psychological torment, keeping it on its current path to entice fear and a loss of hope between the people. Sure enough, the saurian was able to scare off a large majority of the city's population with military tactics that the duck had always found dirty, but effective in the winds of war. Even Phil, the duck's manager, had been caught packing his suitcase and referring all calls to his cell phone, as he retreated to Los Angeles to ward off the storm. Mallory lifted her arm, facing her com, and called for Tanya. She was outside of the Pond, on one of the city's many skyscrapers, testing a new device that would hopefully cut through the ship's shields and allow the ducks to enter.  
  
"Tanya, how's it coming?"  
  
"I got a few more settings to make, but then we'll be able to try."  
  
"I hope this works."  
  
"Me too…" Tanya said, looking to her small device, holding back her reservations. She had already doubted the project would work.  
  
"Any luck?" Wildwing came in, his weary glance painted over with fatigue and hopelessness.  
  
"We'll see in a minute." Mallory gave a tired sigh and leaned back against the nearest control panel, staring up at the ceiling with wandering eyes.  
  
"What's going on?" Duke suddenly appeared on the sign, with Grin following at his heels.  
  
"Tanya's trying out another plan." Mallory replied plainly.  
  
"I sense hope lost for it." Grin added with sadness.  
  
"Who knows what to expect? Keep your hopes up." Duke tried to imprint some sense into his teammates, but the words of encouragement died out in the thick silence.  
  
Tanya contacted the other ducks, their coms all activating at once. "I'm ready to give this a try, but I don't know if it will work." Tanya remarked as she pushed a button on the device. It released a blue ray of light that shot over to Draguanus' warship. However, after a moment of high tension, it bounced off the shield, the ray deflected towards the evening sky.  
  
"So much for that…" Tanya muttered to herself, turning the machine off and looking to the others. "Sorry guys, I'm just a failure."  
  
"Don't worry about it, Tanya. You tried. Just return to base."  
  
"Yes Wildwing, Tanya out."  
  
The ducks all faced each other. It was yet another plan that fell apart, as it seemed destined to. Grin closed his eyes once again, while Mallory took a seat after grabbing a gun off of one of the weapon racks, closely inspecting it. Duke sighed and drifted into his own thoughts while their leader stood in front of the screen, staring at the image of doom and beginning to think of his brother again. He'd done that quite regularly, his eyes always seemed to be wandering and glossed over, as if replaying past memories in a mental tribune. He shut the eyes, brimming with pain, and slowly approached the screen, putting his hands down on the panel and looking to the floor, away from the other ducks.  
  
"Please, Dive…please…" he whispered thoughtlessly. All of a sudden, his com, along with those of the other ducks, received another call. They started to think that Tanya had ran into some difficulty and began to tense up slightly. Yet, upon activating their coms, there was no visual this time. Although static was playing on their coms, a familiar voice began to come over the audio channel.  
  
"This is Nosedive, and I hope that any of the Mighty Ducks hear this message. If you hear this, please let them know what I'm going to say. I'm still inside the fortress, struggling to evade Draguanus' forces. I found their communications station and am now speaking to you on a one-way channel. I'm currently trying to find a way to disable the shields and get the team aboard. I can't do this alone. Please, watch the shields and pray that I make it. If I don't…please tell Wildwing, Duke, and the others that I tried…and that I'm sorry. Hold on…keep faith…" the transmission began to cut out and soon the screens went blank once again. The ducks all looked up to each other, their beaks silent but their eyes all sparkling with a small light, a hopefulness that was renewing their faith. Tears had also grown common among the ducks as well, all feeling a surge a pride that after two days of lost hope, their youngest member had still not fallen in the face of danger. He was pulling through after all.  
  
Duke turned away from the others, another small tear caught in his eye. He looked down to his com and gave an affectionate smile. "Good job, Kid. Good job…" he tapered off, his pride unspeakable.  
  
Wildwing gave a weak smile and sat back, looking to the screen and Draguanus' warship, whispering words of praise to himself. He knew that his little brother would pull through and that they would be united. "Dive…you have to come back to me…to the team. I won't loose you again…" his words barely forming on his beak, his thoughts not quite audible to the others yet. "Baby bro…I love you…"  
  
Nosedive was running through the corridors, trying to desperately escape a party of robots, guiding by Siege. He was carrying Duke's sword, his hands with dried blood stains and his attitude reduced from a teenager's good humor to an animalistic need to survive. He activated the word, jumping from a corner and slashing a robot in half, the circuits sparkling as he leaped over the carcass and sped down the hall, slashing a security camera so it would not be able to track him as easily. However, the teen knew that he couldn't carve a complete path of destruction, knowing that the saurians would easily follow it. Nosedive began to alternate into a more stealthy style of espionage. Watching the camera and sneaking underneath them and out of the range of vision, Nosedive slid into yet another storage room, one of many, and give a quick moment to address his wounds.  
  
His stomach was growling, his head swarming with the blows he had been dealt earlier. He gazed down at Duke's sword, unable to remember how he had done it, but the memory of Bladebeak falling to him was still clear. As a thin line of blood emerged from his beak, he gave his congratulations to the teen, uncharacteristic of the mallard, before he had passed away. Nosedive had killed an enemy, and that thought was constantly on his mind. The blood on his hands was from that battle, never before he had witnessed, much less participate in a contest so riddled in fury. His brain had lost control and his body jumped in, instinctively dodging and parrying blows and slashes, while he racked his mind to invent an offensive. Somehow, he found an opening, and attacked. Nosedive had won, but not after he sustained a variety of bruises and some small cuts. Even after the long and decisive battle with Duke's old rival, the saurians came after him, Siege delivering a brutal punch in Nosedive's side. It had grown tender, aching with every step. The teen tried to ignore it, but the pain was getting worse. A massive bruise had developed and he began to experience small bouts of nausea.  
  
Yet, the duck had survived two days and now he was so close to the completion of a plan that it had become all he lived for. After listening in on a small meeting by Draguanus and his saurian accomplices on the deck of the warship, he gave strict orders regarding the defense mechanisms for the ship. Nosedive heard about the possibility of opening small rifts in the ship's shield, but only for a few seconds at a time. Without a true degree in computational genius, Nosedive would be unable to do much more than that, to allow one or two of the Mighty Ducks to enter within the neglectable time frame. He knew that he needed Tanya to be there, her mechanical gift would spell catastrophe for Draguanus once she was able to penetrate its defenses. However, enacting the plan would be a while different matter altogether. Now that Draguanus discovered the spy among the climate controls of the ship, he had set extra security at any of the stations around the ship that would possibly allow the duck access to the shields. Also, he endlessly barked orders at his lackeys obsessively. He began to fear that this teen was going to be the end of his warship, and finding Nosedive was crucial before any harm would be done to allow the ducks to regain leverage.  
  
Nosedive noticed another grate, allowing access to the ventilation system, yet he knew Draguanus had also dealt with that as well, releasing a variety of small rodent drones to monitor even those routes of escape. Nosedive listened at the door and could hear Siege's unmistakable footsteps, banging into the metallic flooring in a heavy pattern, with the power of a locomotive. However, the saurian once again failed to follow common sense and passed the door, with the marching of mindless drones accompanying him into the distance. Nosedive gave a quick sigh of relief and opened the door, sneaking off in the opposite direction. He was still struggling to get the basic plan of the ship in his head, but found the lack of distinctive areas of the ship very difficult to master and often, he wondered around in a maze, until he could find anything that looked of interest. At this particular moment, something caught his eye, making him stop in his tracks. It seemed to be a monitoring station by the label next to the door. Knocking swiftly and backing up with the weapon waiting, he took a quick minute to freeze and wait for any enemy to emerge. Soon, two robot drones burst out, meeting a blade that took off their heads with lightning-fast accuracy. Nosedive dragged the two drones in the room to hide the evidence and sat down at the control panel.  
  
"Maybe this will do it…" he saw a control panel labeled 'Map' and started pressing random buttons, unsure of what to do. Soon, one of the buttons brought up a small model of the ship, pinpointing his location. Nosedive studied it for a few minutes, trying to plot out a course to one of the computer stations, which were conveniently labeled in a bluish hue. Looking around for something to take down notes with, Nosedive found a small bit of lubricating oil, slowly oozing out of one of the robots decapitated bodies. Dabbing his finger in it, he began to draw a small map on his arm very primitively, and blew on it to dry.  
  
"It's not pretty, but it's all I have…" Nosedive thought to himself as he poked his arm to test the map's ability to hold together. Satisfied, he readjusted his damaged armor before he made a silent exit.  
  
Duke's lessons have all been very helpful to the mallard and never did he expect having to employ them in such a serious situation. The ability to creep was Nosedive's most valuable move since security cameras and drones were scattered about the ship. It was easier to dodge them because they only had a limited amount of intelligence. However, the actual saurians gave him more trouble. Usually, Siege was on his tail and sometimes, Chameleon and Wraith had joined in the fray too. Each hour that he remained free made Draguanus more angry, determined to see this Mighty Duck torn apart. Standing on the deck of his warship, he looked out over the city and searched for the duck on security monitors, under a blanket of weapons fire. Nosedive had also learned how to pick the locks to Draguanus' doors. The security system that he had stolen was not Dragunaus' first choice because it didn't have the highly evolved encrypted codes that his original target had. With another kudos to Duke, Nosedive was happy to know that he was able to put his lock-picking skills to the test. The Mighty Ducks were at least able to prevent the robbery of something that would make this mission far more difficult.  
  
After two hours of evading machines and dodging a near run-in with Siege once again, Nosedive had followed the map to a door that held one of the warship's four computer stations. This particular station actually had windows open to the hall, and Nosedive could see that there was about a dozen robots in there, some patrolling, others typing in calculations with flawless accuracy. The duck decided against a direct assault because that would direct attention to him. He decided to take his chances and approach through the ventilation shafts, even though the small rodent droids would report him within seconds if spotted. Nosedive went to the right and down the hall about a hundred feet where he spotted a small room holding stolen computer components. Looking to the ceiling, there was a small metal panel that would give him a way into the station.  
  
"Alright…" Nosedive listened for the small squeaks that indicated the presence of droids. After hearing nothing, Nosedive jumped up into the shaft, carefully closing the panel behind him and slowly making his way to the computer station.  
  
The grate came out at the feet of one of the robots, working mindlessly on a control panel and oblivious to the duck at its heels. Nosedive knew that the robots would need to be disabled before reporting their damage to the others, because that was how they had communicated the presence of an intruder on board. The teen quietly opened the control panel and slashed out the robot's feet with the duck saber. Upon its torso reaching the ground, Nosedive stabbed the head of the machine, making sure to destroy its CPU, not giving it any time to register its damage and submit it to the others. As expected, none of the other robots knew when the unit was taken off-line and continued with their duty. Sliding against the wall, under the control panels, Nosedive carried out the same strategy on a neighboring droid, taking it out within seconds. Counting up the remaining ten in the room, and taking into account the size of the space, Nosedive gave a tired sigh. It was going to take a long time sneaking around in able to dispatch all the droids. All of a sudden, his luck had changed, because Draguanus called on all available robots to come up to the deck and return fire to the American army. Even though the shields were more than capable of defending the ship, Draguanus loved to cause mayhem upon Anaheim's defenders. Six of the ten remaining robots quickly marched out of the room in a steady pace, leaving Nosedive to scale down an unmonitored corner of the room. Now on the bottom level, he quickly accessed the situation. There were four robots in a circular pattern, each at a console and facing away from each other.  
  
Making a dashing move that would have matched Duke's skill, Nosedive dove in between the four, and slashing their heads off in a swift, circular slash before being able to turn around and confront the intruder. Nosedive checked for any other mechanisms that would detect his presence and saw the cameras were actually pointed away. He went to one of the control panels and attempted to contact his friends. The computer system incorporated into the panels was actually one the ducks had studied before seeing Draguanus' ship in action. Upon learning of the robbery and being unable to prevent it, Tanya requested that the company share its protocols and basic structure to the ducks to analyze. Tanya had briefed them all on the machine just in case they ever encountered it, leaving Nosedive to silently praise his teammate for coming up with such a good idea. Typing in the combination of buttons, he was able to submit a message to the other ducks, however little did he know it was only effective over a short range, so Nosedive was unable to contact anyone and cursed his luck. All of a sudden, the sound of robots approaching drew the duck's attention away from the panel.  
  
"Uh oh…" Nosedive said, flanking the door and awaiting his inevitable confrontation, blade in hand and prepared for combat.  
  
Floating about a mile from the Anaheim border, a flying fortress had come under attack once again. Draguanus stared to the skies under his shield, laughing at the pathetic attempts of the United States army to take him out of the sky. The bombs, missiles, and endless bullets, bouncing off his brilliant defense had the warlord amused and quickly arranged a counter- attack to create his own brand of fireworks. The droids on the deck had returned fire to the ships, causing heavy damage to some, but proved inefficient for larger craft. The aircraft guns and special defensive rocketry systems he had stolen proved decisive in defeating the army swarming his ship, taking them down within seconds, painting the nighttime sky in a variety of reds and yellows. Tanks on the ground were taken out by bombs, a supply stolen from a weapons manufacturer in one of his last heists. Watching his explosives smash into the ground, sending a shockwave that decimated the tanks gave the evil saurian great pride. He forgot all about his little security compromise with Nosedive and focused on the battle, completely unstoppable it seemed.  
  
Duke was standing next to his duckcycle, in the Anaheim city limits, watching the scene unfold before his eyes. Giant explosions circled the ship, sending the vehicles to be repelled in many directions. One fighter plane went out of control and smashed into a small apartment complex about a block away from Duke's position. The stream of fire danced into the sky, while the other buildings quivered, empty of human life. All of a sudden, Duke felt the ground rubble softly and the sound of an explosion following a couple of seconds later. Looking out among the fields, he could see entire lines of tanks taken apart by giant bombs, rippling the earth and sending walls of rock flying up to the skies. Soon, the duck had to back up and take refuge behind an empty house when bits of dirt, gravel, and shrapnel clattered against the streets, braking windows and street lights, leaving shattered glass all over the scene. Duke could see lights in the far distance as massive technical missiles blasted the shields, flashing in brilliant greens that even seemed to reflect off the stars and moon above.  
  
"Out with the big guns…" Duke said, bending down to the ground to dodge a giant rock that came flying through the air, crashing into a deserted car down the street.  
  
Suddenly, the mallard heard a cry for help coming from the war zone in front of him. It was weak, all the last effort put into the voice, which barely could penetrate the duck's ears over the sounds of battle in the distance. Duke thought for a split second before taking the chance to go and help the defenseless person. Dashing out of the safety of building cover, Duke dashed out to the direction of a tank, half engulfed in flames and turned upside-down. The duck had a difficult time seeing anybody in the twisted form of metal and steel and had to head in closer. The fire was now flickering with greater intensity, beginning to shed light upon the form of a human, laying on the ground with his leg stuck under a large piece of the tank's track. Duke went to check on the soldier and the man held his hand out despairingly, the look in his eyes telling the mallard of all the fear he had for his life. Duke examined the track over the leg and was relieved to see that it was possible to free him. Lifting with all his effort, he gave a cry for the soldier to slide his foot out. A flurry of painful screams came to the duck's ears, but within a minute, the leg was free, with the soldier groaning in agony.  
  
"Broken leg…" Duke said, picking up the soldier and running out of the field, falling to the ground when a massive aura of dirt flew over their heads to complement a distant explosion. Picking the human back up, Duke looked out for an opening in the action to escape, but soon, he was surprised when his com suddenly beeped for his attention.  
  
"This is the worst possible time to chit-chat…" Duke muttered, laying down to the ground and giving the soldier a quick word of comfort before activating his communicator. He almost jumped out of his hiding when he saw Nosedive's face on the screen.  
  
"KID!"  
  
"DUKE!" Nosedive yelled out, quickly covering his mouth and looking around suspiciously for a second before returning his glance to Duke.  
  
"Kid, how are you doing?"  
  
"Not too good, but thank God you answered…I've been trying for an hour! It's about time you guys answered!"  
  
"What can I do for you?" Duke exclaimed, turning his eyes on the horizon of dirt and pulling down his head as a blast of dirt and a few shreds of metal swarmed over his head.  
  
"What's going on out there?!"  
  
"Only the biggest battle in Anaheim's history!" Duke yelled, barely audible over the sounds of explosions, racking the ground with powerful vibrations.  
  
"Duke…please, get back to the Pond and get the other ducks! I need your help…NOW!" Nosedive suddenly disappeared from screen, the com showing the background as the distant sounds of Duke's blade was heard, rippling robots apart.  
  
"Kid! KID!" Duke waited, very concerned when silence soon followed. After a few tense seconds, Nosedive now sporting a bleeding mark on his forehead, reappeared.  
  
"Duke…tell the ducks...fly to the ship…I'm going…" Nosedive gritted his teeth stopped speaking as he froze in pain, trying to bear it.  
  
"Kid, are you alright?!" Duke looked worryingly at the injured teen, wishing he could be there to help him. Nosedive soon recaptured his composure and tried to restart his verbal command.  
  
"Get the Aerowing…I can get a hole in the shields, but only for a few seconds. Tell Tanya…A4, C36…please hurry. I will open it in one hour from now…go…" Nosedive's gaze turned to the door and the connection was suddenly shut off.  
  
"KID!" Duke tried to recall his friend but it was to no avail. He turned to the fearful soldier, behaving with his gaze on the duck, as Duke picked him up and dashed back into the city, twisting and turning through the alleys to dodge the flying projectiles from battle.  
  
Dropping the soldier off near a payphone and handing him fifty cents, Duke gave his humble apologies as he dashed for his duckcycle, and took off towards the Pond at his maximum speed. Since the streets were now deserted of activity, it took barely a few minutes for the mallard to return to base. Practically leaping off the bike, Duke ran down the stairs, towards the ready room where the other ducks would definitely be. Thankfully, no one was absent this time, all of them watching Draguanus' ship taking massive blasts and explosions without the slightest effect on his shield. They all had very somber looks, watching hopelessly as the remnants of the American defense fell to the fortress.  
  
"The kid contacted me!!!" Duke screamed, drawing all their attention with wide and shocked glances.  
  
"What did he say?!" Tanya barked at him impatiently. They all were anxiously awaiting the news.  
  
"In about fifty minutes, the kid's opening a small hole in the shield…a couple of us will be able to get in the ship and join him! A4, C36 is what he said, whatever that means..." Duke gasped for air, now exhausted from his forceful words. Tanya seemed to comprehend the message and soon was typing rapidly as a diagram of the ship appeared on the screen.  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" Mallory gave a slightly dumbfounded look, turning to Tanya, hard at work.  
  
"He gave us a coordinate…now according to his code and the security system's information databanks, it would hopefully appear about…here." She directed the ducks' vision to a small portion of the shield covering a small door on the ship's shell. "We will have to destroy it and enter the ship, but we'll only have seconds to do it."  
  
"How many would be able to get in before time runs out?" Mallory asked, turning to Tanya.  
  
"Two or three at the most. The Aerowing should be able to blast the doors, but since we only have a few seconds, I think that only two should take the chance to enter."  
  
"Load the Aerowing immediately. Tanya and I will enter the ship." Wildwing turned to the others, eyes filled with hope and determination. He would not fail his brother or Anaheim for that matter.  
  
"With all due respect, fearless leader, I want to request I take this mission." Duke objected, Wildwing swung to him, not anticipating the request and looking a bit dissatisfied.  
  
"Tanya advised that two of us go, just to be safe."  
  
"Then let me go in your place." Duke replied, almost interrupting Wildwing, who began to grow annoyed with the gray mallard.  
  
"I should be the one to go, Duke. I'm the leader…" Wildwing began, his gaze almost challenging the older teammate, however Duke only grew more confrontational.  
  
"No, I should go. You can't expect to fight the army of robots on-board; you need someone with stealth…and I get along with the kid better." Duke didn't catch himself and ceased talking immediately after making the comment, knowing he had accidentally hurt and angered his leader and friend. Wildwing's brows arched at the insult and began to step towards Duke, growing more hostile.  
  
"Don't you ever…" Wildwing gritted through his teeth, the hurt temporary covered up by the anger.  
  
"Wildwing, I'm sorry to interrupt." Tanya stepped in between the two, trying to end the standoff. "I think Duke would be better equipped to handle the situation." She said hesitantly, worrying that her leader would take it as if they were ganging up on him. Thankfully, Mallory jumped into the tense moment to back Tanya.  
  
"Wildwing, we really need your piloting skills against Draguanus' fortress. Let them take the mission."  
  
"But, Dive needs me…" Wildwing started, his tone softening up as the pain began to cloud over the anger. It almost sounded pleading to the other ducks.  
  
"He needs you more to get us up there Wildwing. You are the best pilot." Tanya walked forward, putting an arm on Wildwing's shoulder and giving a small look of pity.  
  
Wildwing looked down for a moment, standing there almost helpless as he struggled to think of a way to turn his teammates around to seeing things his way, but he was defeated. The team had made it clear that he was destined to take the role he didn't want. However, he felt a pang of sadness at the realization that Duke was right. Nosedive couldn't even face him now, and Wildwing knew he would better work with his confidant. He nodded his head in defeat and the ducks began to assemble to prepare the Aerowing for the battle. Wildwing and Duke met eyes for a minute and the while mallard shook his head in disappointment for a moment, catching Duke by surprise, enticing suspicion in the elder duck.  
  
"Dive needs me…"  
  
"Wildwing…" suddenly, the leader drew another hint of anger going into his voice, taking Duke off balance  
  
"Damnit…it isn't fair!" Wildwing said in a tone resembling a growl, staring restlessly around the room, and then turning to Duke.  
  
"What?" Duke was confused, looking at the gazes of accusation on his leader's face, unable to read into them.  
  
"Dive and I are close…air-tight. I should be the one helping him."  
  
"But you are helping him."  
  
"By sending you?"  
  
"The kid would feel more confident with me there. You two aren't exactly on speaking terms."  
  
"It wasn't my fault…"  
  
"You said those words to him…"  
  
"I can't even remember saying them!" Wildwing put up in protest, but to no avail.  
  
"I heard them myself, along with the whole team…"  
  
Well, if you didn't steal him away from me in the first place…" Wildwing stopped, knowing he was thinking out loud. Duke's eyebrow raised at the unexpected comment.  
  
"Is that what you think? I stole him from ya!?" Duke said, starting to erect a defense in each proceeding word.  
  
"He always spends his time with you…" Wildwing's tone was halfway between anger and embarrassment. He knew the argument was turning against him.  
  
"Let me tell you something, fearless leader. I have nothing to do with you loosing Nosedive. While you were so wrapped up in playing leader, the kid was on the roof of the Pond, staring hopelessly into the night, in need of a shoulder to cry on. He's been in so much pain and since ya didn't even bother to check on him, I did! Don't ya ever accuse me of stealing him! Ya did it all yourself! With the words you had for him after three months of me and the others trying to get the two to talk, ya completely deserve what ya got!" Duke aggressively asserted before turning around and abruptly leaving the room. Wildwing, normally prone to becoming almost hostile with Duke's tone, grew very quiet and almost pitying himself. He realized that Duke was right, that he never did give his brother any sort of attention other than that of a leader over his command. Nosedive was his brother and needed support from his big brother; he was dependant on his support, but he never woke up to it. Instead, now Duke was the one taking over his job since he lost touch with his brother long ago. Wildwing turned to the ground, closing his eyes and sighing to withhold the tears, before joining the others on their mission.  
  
Nosedive was growing weaker and worried about his team being able to follow his plan. The teen was able to lock the door and prevent further interruption, but found it harder to stay active. Nosedive felt his energy leaving him, the pains of his body trying to drag him down, calling for attention, but the duck had to focus all his thoughts on the mission at hand. Checking with his com's watch, he counted down to the time when he would activate the console and open the shield. He only hoped his teammates came at the right time.  
  
Meanwhile, heading to the night sky with only a few minutes to spare, the Aerowing quickly headed towards the scene of continuing battle, now beginning to die down as the United States army incurred heavy losses. Long- distance attacks began to replace direct engagement, but this had no better luck with getting though Draguanus' defense. Meanwhile, the ship kept getting closer to Anaheim, keeping its course directly towards the Pond, relentlessly approaching its target of destruction. Unyielding to the distractions of the army to draw it away from the city, the saurians were still on top of the battle. None was more pleased then Draguanus, who was now smiling, laughing manically into the night after the onslaught, endlessly pleased at his success. Wraith watched on, unimpressed by the whole battle and wondering when Nosedive was going to let the ducks in to take down the ship, expecting the inevitable to happen soon. Yet, he let his master live in the moment, to be foolish and grow oblivious to the situation setting itself up in the decks below. He didn't even notice the Aerowing bobbing over his line of sight for a second, before dropping down under the deck's level as it tried to get in close and hold position at Tanya's coordinates. Wildwing couldn't remain stationary for long since missiles began flying towards the shields, their blows sending shockwaves in the air, causing turbulence for the ducks.  
  
"Who'd thought that our own side would be shooting at us?!" Mallory looked out towards the direction of the missiles and grunted annoyingly.  
  
"Get ready!" Wildwing shouted back to Duke and Tanya, who headed towards the side of the Aerowing, preparing to evacuate. Mallory and Grin moved in front of the side door with puck blasters, ready to destroy the door as quickly as possible. The Aerowing made a few dizzying moves before moving back into position, before Tanya looked at the watch and saw that they were down to a quarter minute.  
  
"15…14…13…" she counted off as the ducks intensified their glances towards the shield, flickering a bit with the heavy crossfire. The Aerowing had to quickly parry an incoming missile, moving them from the spot and sending calls to Wildwing to get them back in position.  
  
"5…4…" Tanya began to sweat with Duke as they grew nervous, heading into the movement of truth.  
  
"3…2…" Mallory and Grin aimed their puck blasters, whispering prayers for this plan to pull through.  
  
"…1…" Nosedive, in the ship, pressed the button with his last ounce of strength before he passed out, gasping for breath.  
  
"GO!" Tanya exclaimed, drawing her hand up to shield herself as the puck blasters fired. They almost lost themselves in celebration when it successfully connected with the door, blowing it asunder. Duke and Tanya dashed off the Aerowing, leaping into the ship before the shield quickly reactivated, causing friction with the hull of the Aerowing and forcing Wildwing to pull out hastily, trying to avoid a string of explosive fire that was beginning the rock the shields of the ship once again. The three remaining ducks yelled their praise for Nosedive as they headed down, back to Anaheim to ready their defenses at the Pond.  
  
"Good luck guys…" Wildwing quickly peered to the warship, as he flew back into the city, Mallory and Grin both shaking each other's hands in the moment of triumph.  
  
Duke and Tanya took a second to assess their situation in the ship. They could see the hole in the ship, now covered up by the shield, locking them inside. They both had dual puck blasters and a puck launcher, while Tanya had a first aid kit and some small rations for Nosedive. Tanya had also prepared her Omni-tool, fitting it with a tracking device that could pick up on Nosedive's signal, actually located some distance away from them, and continuing to move further away. Tanya readjusted her glasses and looked at the beacon with a confused look.  
  
"Why is he moving further away?" she turned to Duke.  
  
"Maybe he's in trouble. Let's go." He replied, directing her down a hallway taking them towards Nosedive.  
  
The saurians had found Nosedive in bad shape, unconscious on the floor of one of their computer stations. Chameleon was so excited in locating the duck that he forgot to check the systems for any security breaches.  
  
"Draguanus, we got the duck. He's out of commission it appears."  
  
"Great, bring him up to me." Draguanus delightfully exclaimed, turning off the com and looking to Wraith.  
  
"So much for saurian magic…" he gave a confident grin, turning away from his saurian lackey to watch the continuing explosions blast against the shields.  
  
"You are being a fool master…" Wraith whispered to himself. He knew that Nosedive was able to get two more of the ducks inside the ship, but he decided to keep quiet; to let Draguanus deal with his own problems while he watched imminent failure creep up on the unsuspecting lizard. Within a few moments, his glance followed Draguanus as Chameleon appeared on the deck with Nosedive, held up by two robotic drones. Draguanus snickered as he headed toward the duck, watching him slowly stir and groan in pain.  
  
"Well, it seems our guest is awakening." Draguanus turned to Chameleon, who delivered a couple of slaps to wake up Nosedive. He shot up, looking at Draguanus, and began backing up, right into the locking arms of the robots, which held his battered body up for Draguanus to inspect.  
  
"Seems you got past Bladebeak and our defenses for two entire days. Not too shabby, but utterly futile, duck." He snickered, pacing in front of the teen and momentarily turning to Wraith to visually show a triumphant glance as if to brag his victory. It gained no response from the bony saurian, who continued to stare back at him, unimpressed by the whole scene.  
  
"Lizard lips…you'll fail… you always do!" Nosedive tried to adopt brave words, but his insecurities about the success of the plan was shaking his resolve and making him increasingly worried.  
  
"Not this time, stupid duck. This shield is impenetrable, and within a few hours, after turning up the speed, I'll be within range to bombard the Pond to ashes!" Draguanus gave another laugh, so excited at the prospect of finally winning the war that he failed to observe Wraith's small snicker. Siege had suddenly appeared on scene, eyeing Nosedive and sharing Chameleon in a sinister grin as they listened to their master's demonstration of optimism.  
  
"Take him away, and keep close tabs on him! We'll toss him out of the ship!" Draguanus snickered, watching Siege take Nosedive from the drones and disappear along with Chameleon. Wraith shook his head and watched his master with disappointment. He wondered how long it would take before Draguanus realized that his security had been compromised. The two saurians took Nosedive back to the same prison as earlier, disapprovingly cursing at the melted door before opening a cell and prepared to place Nosedive inside.  
  
Careful, Siege. He's already in bad shape." Chameleon cautioned his ally as the large, orange saurian ineffectually threw the duck into a cell and slammed the door shut.  
  
"Who cares? He'll live until Draguanus tosses him out on the shattered remains of the Pond." Siege turned to the weakened Nosedive, shinning an evil smile that had momentarily met with the duck's glazed eyes. Nosedive leaned his head back, clutching his side and groaning with pain.  
  
"Hey, maybe we should check him out…he looks really hurt." Chameleon said, morphing into a doctor and heading to open the cell until Siege held the bars closed.  
  
"It's probably a trick, you idiot!" Siege snapped, holding the door shut and preventing Chameleon from checking in on him. Nosedive stirred a little before he began to slump over, feeling blackness cloud over his vision as the pain hauntingly accompanied him into induced slumber.  
  
The two saurians were taken by surprise when they saw Duke and Tanya standing in the broken door of the prison ward, immediately launching an attack without hesitation. Chameleon fell first with a kick to the head while Tanya shot a puck that emitted gas on Siege, knocking the titan down into a deep sleep. Duke was pleased to find that Chameleon had actually tucked his duck blade in his belt, reattaching it to his shoulder while Tanya ran up to the cell with Nosedive in it, using the keys that she snatched from Siege's hand to unlock the door.  
  
"How's the kid?" Duke headed up to Tanya, watching her take out the medical kit and begin examining Nosedive.  
  
"He's in pretty bad shape." Tanya worriedly replied, lifting up Nosedive's shirt to examine his side. "It seems he took a hard blow here. I believe his kidney is inflamed."  
  
"How serious is it?" Duke watched, his soft glance watching Nosedive slowly as the young duck rocked his head as he tried to come back from his bout with unconsciousness.  
  
"It could be potentially serious, possibly fatal in the long run. He has sustained many other injuries as well." Tanya wiped blood off of the teen's forehead and began applying rubbing alcohol to the wound. "We got to get him back to the infirmary and soon."  
  
"Hold on, Kid, for all of us." Duke said, helping Tanya to lift him. They knew it would be harder to stop Draguanus by having to carry the disabled teammate with them, but they had no means to get him emergency medical attention, and time was of the essence. Thankfully, to their relief, Nosedive began to regain consciousness and looked up them weakly.  
  
"Tauny? Duke?" Nosedive flashed a thankful smile, the slight urge to tear up at the sight of his teammates began to creep up on the teen, but he was able to suppress it.  
  
"Yeah, it's us…" Tanya said kindly, helping Nosedive get up so he could sit on the bench of the cell. He saw Siege and Chameleon unconscious and turned back to his friends.  
  
"You guys do nice work." He grinned, the smile quickly fading as he felt pains shooting up his side.  
  
"You have a lot of injuries. We need to get you back to the infirmary as soon as possible."  
  
"No…that's not as important. We have to stop Draguanus." Nosedive got up painfully, supporting himself on the wall of the cell as he surveyed the scene. "Are they any others aboard?"  
  
"No. Just the three of us." Duke said, motioning for Nosedive to give him his arm so he could bring it over his shoulder and support the teen. Slowly they began to leave the brig and down the hall to the right, where another computer station was supposed to be.  
  
"You got your blade back." Nosedive commented a few steps later.  
  
"Yeah. Ya took great care of it Kid. "Duke flashed a kind smile, one that Nosedive returned happily. "I see you've been through a lot."  
  
"Yeah, I have…somehow, I beat Bladebeak, but I can't even remember how. For the last two days, I've been avoiding droids and running into battles continuously."  
  
"Wait." Tanya held her hands out, the three noticing they were in front of a small storage locker. "Let's go in here and we can give Nosedive the rations we brought and I may have some medicine I could put together."  
  
"Perfect." Duke complied, opening the door and sneaking inside.  
  
"Draguanus' goons are going to wake up soon…" Nosedive reminded his friends, knowing they weren't yet far from the brig. Duke got up and headed to the door. 'I'll take care of them."  
  
"No, we should stick…" Nosedive started to protest, but Duke held up his hands.  
  
"I'll just tie them up and get rid of their transporters and coms. I'll be right back." He assured the other two mallards before he disappeared out the door.  
  
Tanya gave Nosedive some small bits of nutritional supplements which he greedily devoured, a little disappointed in the poor taste. Tanya also give the teen a small assortment of pain killers and other medicines to help his healing.  
  
"This will by no means replace a trip to the infirmary, but this should help for the time being."  
  
"Got it. Thanks Tauny. What would I do without our resident doc in the house?" Nosedive showed his gratification before Duke suddenly returned into the small locker, holding the transporters and coms of the saurians.  
  
"Mission accomplished. They're locked up in the cell, and the keys are thrown away, but I doubt it'll be long before they are able to break their bonds and call for help."  
  
"Good. We better start moving then." Tanya said, suddenly turning back to Nosedive with a slight bit of concern. "Maybe I can find a way to get you off the ship so you can return to the infirmary."  
  
"No, Tauny, I'll be fine. I'll keep up. I'm starting to feel better already." Nosedive perked up very slightly, holding back on his expressions of pain a bit in order to convince his teammates.  
  
"Well, if you're sure Kid, let's go then." Duke said, checking out the door, before having the other two follow him. Nosedive didn't have to worry as much since Duke was able to deal with the cameras and occasional robot drone, disabling them with no difficulty. Tanya watched over Nosedive, and looked out for any good strategic spots in which to obtain a little data about the ship. Soon, the trio found the next computing station, and Duke, following Nosedive's earlier plan of attack, went to the side and dove into the ventilation shafts, quickly destroying a small rodent droid before checking out the situation. They were only a couple of robots operating as a skeleton crew while the others were elsewhere, likely warding off another counter-attack by the American army. Duke handed Nosedive a puck blaster, and while he and Tanya took out the distant ones with pucks, Duke dispatched of the close one with his blade. Tanya led the way down to the control panels and began to examine the controls for a silent moment, while Duke and Nosedive backed her up, listening for trouble outside the door.  
  
"I think I may be able to deactivate the shields, but I can't disable the ship from here." Tanya said, readjusting her glasses and connecting her Omni-tool to a small adaptor in the console. "I'm downloading some specs and other data. In the meanwhile, I can try and de-activate the shields."  
  
"Wait." Nosedive said, drawing her attention. "Isn't there something else we can do that can stop Draguanus sooner rather than later."  
  
"That's what this is for." Tanya said, holding up her Omni-tool as it disconnected from the panel. "I have to analyze this data quickly and find a better way to take down the ship. If we deactivate the shields, however, the ship will maintain heavy damage and will have to slow down or stop altogether."  
  
"That plan just doesn't seem as good as the other. How about analyzing the data instead?" Nosedive asked, trying to sound respectful to his older ally.  
  
"Yeah, Tanya, I agree with the kid." Duke added.  
  
"Alright." Tanya replied. "But we have to find a better place to safely analyze this."  
  
"Sounds cool to me!" Nosedive gave a smile, shooting his puck blaster and taking out a couple screens and control panels, as steam began to shoot out in heavy streams and sparks rained over the room.  
  
"Let's go!" Duke commanded, leading the two away in a quick escape. A few minutes later, the gray mallard found a small room with a portable computer console. Happy at the discovery, Tanya got to work while Duke and Nosedive gathered around her.  
  
Outside the ship, the Mighty Ducks were all assembled in the Pond, watching Draguanus' ship as it continued to drift through the endless bombardment by the army, continuing to avoid any sort of damage. The military had issued a report that the ducks intercepted, stating that the ship was beginning to pick up speed. Apparently, intruders had gotten aboard was the reason reported, giving the ducks extra satisfaction. Wildwing and Mallory stood at the controls, concentrating their full energies to the military's information and occasionally turning to Grin, who was meditating, trying to get a sense of how his friends were doing inside the ship. Wildwing was happy to hear that Nosedive was still going strong, but grew a bit worried when Grin had said that his aura was starting to fade slightly. Mallory tried to reassure her leader, reminding them that Tanya was there, and while that momentarily took a bit of weight off of Wildwing's troubled shoulders, he continued to brood over the team, hoping they would be successful. They hadn't heard a word from any of the three, but they continued to watch the ship, hoping to soon see a sign that something was happening inside. Soon, Mallory showed a bit of nervousness after looking over the latest information and turned to Wildwing.  
  
"I got some bad news…" Mallory exclaimed, after looking at some of the military's information through a small monitor on one of the ready room's panels.  
  
"What is it?" Wildwing asked, heading over to her. Grin looked up for a minute.  
  
"Draguanus is coming right for us here at the Pond. Apparently, he'll be able to begin assaulting us in about an hour, more or less." Mallory said with concern, wiping beads of sweat from her forehead. "Our shields will not hold for too long after that." She added grimly. Silence had caught the room for a minute.  
  
"Prepare the Aerowing for immediate evacuation if necessary." Wildwing turned to Grin. "I'm going to see if there is anything we can do to give our friends a little more time." Wildwing noted before heading to a neighboring panel, analyzing the shields and assessing his options.  
  
Tanya spent a few minutes looking over the information she was able to obtain from the computing station, while Duke looked over Nosedive's wounds with the medical kit, both awaiting to hear her report with a little anxiety.  
  
"I've looked over the data and here's what I got." Tanya turned up to the others, who immediately ceased all activity to gather around her. "Draguanus' ship is much the same as the last one in terms of bringing it down. There is another anti-gravity device that is keeping it afloat and that needs to be taken out, yet it is not as easily accessible as it was last time."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
'The first ship was took on, Dragunaus had kept it in a control panel on deck, allowing us to quickly disable it and crash the ship. Unfortunately, the anti-matter device is now in the more heavily guarded section of the ship, directly in the center. Even the walls surrounding the device are proofed against most conventional weapons."  
  
"What about the mask?" Nosedive mentioned, Duke nodding his head at the keen reminder.  
  
"Yes, I was just getting to that. Draguanus is apparently keeping that in his personal quarters."  
  
"Then we got to get it first." Duke stood up, heading towards the door, but Tanya stopped him with a hand, alerting them to the fact she had more to say.  
  
"They know we are here. The two saurians are free."  
  
"Well, at least we won't have much trouble finding them." Duke said, readying his puck launcher. The other two readied their puck blasters and decided to have Tanya guide them while Duke took to the front of the line to direct any attack. Nosedive was placed in the middle, in able to protect his weakened state from any ambushes that may occur. Finalizing their strategy, the ducks quickly took off towards the elevator that would send them to Dragunaus' quarters.  
  
The saurian master was on the deck of his ship, angrily cursing swears to the skies and attacking a couple of stray robots in rage. Wraith watched on, hiding his amusement at the sudden change in attitude. However, he was not able to escape Draguanus' attention, who began to verbally attack him as well.  
  
"You worthless old-timer! How dare you let the ducks get away with this!" he snorted, steam began to rise from his mouth to reflect his dark mood. The robed saurian showed little interest in the insult.  
  
"Too much confidence…" Wraith almost scolded his master, quickly having to dodge the thrown torso of a robot, courtesy of Draguanus.  
  
"Damn you! Why can't you actually be of use to me?!" Draguanus roared, his deep throat emitting sounds of anger that reflected the bombs blasting the shield over their heads.  
  
"Dragunaus, I hardly believe that this is worth going into." The saurian rubbed his eyes, looking wearily out over the whole scene. 'I can tell you that they have two goals in mind. They want the mask of Drake DuCaine and then they will want to sink your ship."  
  
"Then how about helping me stop them!?" Dragunaus bellowed, approaching the lizard with his expression of hatred and a thirst for destruction. Wraith was able to turn a sly, little smile before he spoke back to his master.  
  
"But of course…" they quickly disappeared, hoping to meet the ducks at their first destination, Dragunaus' quarters.  
  
As the ducks were headed down the bowels of the ship, Tanya stopped with his Omni-tool started to emit a beeping that caught her attention.  
  
"Apparently, Dragunaus has transported to another part of the ship."  
  
"I have the feeling we are running right into a battle." Nosedive said, using his puck blaster to quickly dispatch of an approaching robot.  
  
"Yeah, Kid, I bet you're right." Duke backed up the teen, motioning the team to continue descending down the hallway. At the elevator, Duke slashed open the door, and directed the team to climb up the shaft so they wouldn't alert the saurians as easily. At their destination, Duke slashed open the door to heavy resistance on the part of a small amassing of robots, firmly commanded by Siege, furious with the ducks for taking away his com and transporter. He yelled commands and curses in a tremulous mix as the heroes were greeted by a line of fire, causing them to back down the shaft defensively. Tanya used her Omni-tool to open the door to the next floor down, giving the ducks an escape route.  
  
"Apparently, this won't work." Duke muttered, wiping his sweat as he leaped into the door to dodge incoming fire. Siege cursed down the elevator shaft after the ducks, his bulky form and the limited capabilities of his command were unable to follow.  
  
The three mallards decided to try getting to the upper floor by a less conspicuous route, but finding a good point of entry took a short while. They had continued to run into robots at a semi-regular pace, no longer trying to avoid combat, but jumping into it, Duke using his blade while Tanya and Nosedive shot pucks when needed to back him up. With a combination of Tanya's information and Duke's cunning, they had decided on a vent that would take them upstairs, to a location that would be fairly close to Draguanus' quarters. This time, Nosedive took the initiative to get in on the action, destroying a couple of rodent droids before helping the other two up. The pain was still bothering him, but under the effect of the drugs and the rush of adrenalin, it reminded at the back of the teenager's mind. Slowly, with Duke's blade, he chopped the bolts holding the grate into the floor and peaked up very slowly. Down the hall, he could see Dragunaus' room, but the hall was abnormally quiet. His intuition didn't fail him because upon closer inspection and thanks to a scanning beam from Tanya's Omni-tool, they were able to identify a various number of invisible security lasers set in place to alert the saurians of the slightest intrusion.  
  
"Follow me, and be very careful." Tanya altered the others as she stepped to the forefront, showing the others were the beams were with another scan of the Omni-tool and slyly avoiding them, stopping every few feet so the three could stay together. For a while, this approach worked, but the last set of beams proved extremely difficult for the ducks to cross, so Duke decided to go ahead without the others, hoping to grab the mask and rejoin them quickly. Tanya lit up the beams with her Omni-tool and Nosedive watched, deeply impressed as Duke carefully bent his body in a variety of different angles and positions to carefully surpass the lasers, flawlessly dodging every one. At the door, Tanya whispered the code, another bit of side data she had picked up, but as soon as the entrance flung open, the saurian warlord and his old lackey were both there to personally greet the ducks.  
  
"Well, well, if it isn't the Mighty Ducks, trying to steal my little treasure." He gave a small grin, extending a claw to activate one of the beams, causing red lights to flood the hall with sirens, announcing their presence. Suddenly, a small group of robots, Chameleon among them, had assembled around the corner, ready to attack the heroes.  
  
"Any last requests?" Draguanus announced, holding up a claw to hold off the impending attack until his answer was given.  
  
"How about downing the ship, going home, and admitting failure?" Nosedive cracked off, trying to lighten the mood, but only the saurian acknowledged the humor in the sarcastic comment.  
  
"Attack!" Dragunaus commanded, he and Wraith flanking the closing door as a flurry of shots came down the hall. The ducks immediately took positions against the floor, Duke able to deflect some of the shots with his blade. Nosedive grabbed the puck launcher and decided to fire a gas puck towards the robots, temporary blinding them and Chameleon in the process and allowing the heroes to head toward the grate as a defensive position. Duke took the opportunity to take out a couple of blinded robots as he back up, Tanya shooting an explosive puck to assist. Soon, shots blindly flew from the smoke cloud, hitting in a variety of untargeted spots throughout the hall. Some of the robots had stepped from the mist to get a better view, but they only met the unforgiving blade of Duke, chopping them into pieces.  
  
However, a huge, orange hand came from the mist, grabbing the gray mallard and pulling him into the smoke.  
  
"Duke!" Nosedive yelled out, trying to head after him, but Tanya prevented the reckless action as they sunk to the floor, watching their friend fly over their heads, landing unconsciously down the hall, close to Dragunaus' door in a heap.  
  
"Now that's air express!" Siege snickered, heading out of the now diminishing mist to confront the remaining ducks. "Give me back those…" he said, pointing towards his com and transportation mechanism that Tanya was currently holding on to. He dove for the female, but Tanya was prepared and leaped out of the way, landing behind Nosedive who shot off a rapid procession of pucks down the hall, shattering more of the droids and making Chameleon dive for cover. Their limited fighting room proved difficult to deal with Siege, who rose once again, trying to smash the ducks with his fists. Tanya had reached Duke's position, while Nosedive prepared to deliver counter-fire, but grew concerned when at this pivotal moment, he ran out of ammunition!  
  
"I'm out!" Nosedive whimpered loudly, just parrying a swinging fist from the saurian, ramming into the wall at full force, denting it violently.  
  
"Here!" Tanya tried to throw her puck blaster to Nosedive, but it was quickly grabbed and broken by Siege, now leaving only a short distance between him and the door to Draguanus.  
  
"Here duckies…" he stepped forward confidently, smiling with evil intentions. All of a sudden, Duke, now starting to recover, pulled an old move and slashed out the lights, temporarily stopping their enemy's approach.  
  
"Get in the room. We'll have more space!" Duke whispered to Tanya who headed to the door, lighting the control panel with her Omni-tool as she opened the door. Immediately, Draguanus and Wraith had re-appeared, but the darkness took them by surprise, allowing the ducks to push though, Nosedive thankfully catching the sound of Duke's command and followed along. He rolled away to dodge an attempt by Draguanus to grab him and the master lined up with his saurian followers, now ready to get in on the battle himself.  
  
Wraith attempted to scatter the three ducks by sending fireballs across the room, but they all had leaped to safety in the same direction, knowing that to separate could spell doom in this battle. Siege, the ever so impatient one, tried to take on the ducks by direct assault, swatting at them like flies, but Tanya was able to send a well-aimed puck to the head, knocking the large saurian out. Wraith rolled his eyes as Dragunaus emitted a short line of curses for his lackey's failure, moving aside as a small regiment of robots burst on the scene, firing more beams that sent the three heroes on the move. Nosedive and Tanya, now grabbing Duke's twin puck blasters, quickly returned fire, destroying many of the robots without much effort. Duke, at the front of the line, took out the last few with several hard swipes of his blade, flipping out of the way as a fireball blazed along the ground. Wraith tried to circle the ducks with a wall of flames, but they were able to leap out of the area before the wall could raise itself. As the circle of flames began to paint the room in an orange glaze, Draguanus noted that Nosedive and Tanya were separated from Duke and tried to take on the gray mallard. He was able to get a quick blow on Duke, knocking him to the ground, grabbing his arm in pain as he stared up into the eyes of his attacker.  
  
"It never surprises me how you pathetic waterfowl never give up." He sneered, staring into Duke with predatory eyes, ready to pounce.  
  
"And it surprised me how ya lose all the time!" Duke recovered, preparing for Draguanus' offense, and was able to counter it, straining his thin legs to the limit in order to flip the large saurian right over him, landing hard on the ground behind him. Duke spun up quickly, dodging a couple of slashing claws and backing up a step before being caught in laser fire from newly arrived drones.  
  
'This is it duck…now you will finally die." Draguanus arched forward, ready to lash out once again, but Nosedive's puck fire had destroyed the robots preventing Duke's tactical retreat, now allowing the mallard to head back, flipping to the side and rejoining the teen across the room, who was now helping Tanya keep Wraith and Chameleon at bay.  
  
"We need to do something to end this quickly!" Tanya remarked stressfully, making it clear to the others that their remaining ammo was dwindling quickly. Suddenly, Nosedive caught glimpse of it…the mask of Drake DuCaine on the far end of the room, in a small glass case above Dragunaus' bed. However, the saurians had now separated the ducks from the coveted prize, held in check by Draguanus, who was now livid at being unable to take down the heroes.  
  
"There it is guys! We have to get the mask…" Nosedive grunted under heavy breaths, dodging another fireball by Wraith and leading the others behind the circle of fire for momentary planning.  
  
"We got to go together. We can break through the line and then attack the rest as it tries to close in…" Duke yelled to the others, jumping back as the fire disintegrated, leaving the battle floor cleared once again.  
  
The ducks decided to head towards Chameleon, the weakest point in the line. The incoming robots were quickly taken out by the last of the ammo, while Duke took to the front, engaging the saurian in combat. Tanya, trying to help out the others, lit an emergency flare in her Omni-tool, temporary blinding Draguanus and Wraith, as Nosedive made a risky dash in between the two enemies for the mask, leaping onto the bed and shattering the glass with his fist mindlessly. As Duke successfully took out Chameleon, who flew into Wraith, Nosedive reunited with the others, holding the mask in his free hand and waving the puck blaster in requesting a retreat. Heading down the hall, back into darkness, the ducks ran into some robots as they tried to make it to the grate, scurrying with all their energy to their escape. Nosedive was on the heels of Duke when he was rammed into the wall by a robot, trying to wrestle with it as his worried eyes caught the sight of Draguanus, fuming in the doorway of his chamber. Nosedive quickly put on the mask without hesitation, instantly flooding his vision with light, illuminating the hallway and enabling him to deliver a kick to the robot's head. Nosedive quickly recovered and headed into the grate, feeling a quick pain strike the side of his body as he joined Duke and Tanya in the ventilation shaft, heading the floor below and taking off in quick pursuit. They ran around corners, thoughtlessly putting distance between themselves and the battle as they tried to take a position to recover and reassess. Finally, they all caught their breath in a quiet stretch of hallway, the elder ducks catching the teenager sporting the mask, a bit too big for the mallard but still held on with enough effort to allow him its assistance. They were even more taken back when Nosedive sank to one knee, gasping in pain as he grabbed his side. Tanya grew extremely worried when she pulled his hand back, revealing blood.  
  
"You've been shot!"  
  
"Yeah…I know" Nosedive tried to mouth the words, but his teeth stayed firmly clenched together as he tried to control the pain. Duke grabbed the teens hands for support as Tanya inspected the wound. She caught a glimpse of a trail of small droplets of blood that followed their retreat path before turning her total attention to the wound.  
  
"It wouldn't normally be serious…but this hit you right in the area of inflammation. If we don't get you back to the infirmary within the next hour, you risk permanent damage…or worse." Those two ending words raising Duke's eyebrows in concern. He looked back to Nosedive, and then to Tanya, decided that risking his friend's health was not worth it.  
  
'Tanya, we need to contact the Aerowing and deactivate the shields. Then, the team could join us and Nosedive could get back to the infirmary."  
  
"Duke! NO!" Nosedive shot up, trying to defy the words, but the pain made him slump to the ground again, setting his head back to the wall.  
  
"Kid…it's not worth the risk. You need to trust me…" he said, holding Nosedive down and quieting his attempts to defend himself. "Listen to me, please. You are seriously wounded. We need to get you back to the infirmary and now." Nosedive sat for a moment, thinking of the upcoming struggle but then the haunting thought of suffering permanent damage from his injuries caused his common sense to combat his rush of adrenalin.  
  
"Alright…" he accepted, bowing his head in defeat, which Duke lifted up to meet with his gaze.  
  
"Kid…you really saved us all." Duke said with a small hint of pride. "Believe me when I say that this team is indebted to you. Trust us…we'll take care of Draguanus. You're too important to lose, no matter what the mission." He finished, his prideful gaze almost reminiscent of Wildwing's. That look gave Nosedive a lot of comfort after months of yearning for his brother, and let him accept the resignation. Tanya smiled on, watching them and silently agreeing with all of Duke's words. Never had she been so proud of the teen either.  
  
Duke looked to Tanya for answers as he helped Nosedive to his feet.  
  
"I think I can get in contact with the rest of the team."  
  
"Great. Do you think you can still deactivate the shields?"  
  
"Draguanus will probably bring them back up within a minute, but I can try."  
  
"We have to take the chance. Where's the nearest station?"  
  
"Back a few floors. It'd be best to revisit the one we've been to."  
  
"But we kinda trashed it." Nosedive joined in the conversation.  
  
"Not the controls I need to deactivate the shields." Tanya replied.  
  
"We're going to have to try the elevator shaft. Up to it Kid?"  
  
"Yeah…I'm tough!" Nosedive tried to insert a little energy into the comment, but the words came out unintentionally weak.  
  
"Lead the way Duke." Tanya replied, helping the gray mallard carry their injured friend. It didn't take much energy to return to the elevator shaft. It had appeared that Draguanus and his minions were not actively chasing the ducks, so little trouble was stirred during the trip back to the computer station.  
  
"Damn those ducks! They got the mask back, but they won't, THEY WON'T SINK MY SHIP!" Draguanus shook his fists, facing the other saurians, while in the backdrop sat the anti-gravity device, surrounded by a small shield and several guns of various shapes and sizes, ready to destroy any sign of trouble.  
  
"What's taking so long?" Chameleon gave a small complaint, leaning back against the nearest console and started to study his gun disinterestedly.  
  
"They have an injured duck with them." Wraith replied dryly. "They'll come."  
  
"They better. I got a gift to give them." Siege clenched his fist tightly, bulbous veins rising to the surface of his scaly skin.  
  
"Patience." Wraith replied, looking at the skull hanging from his staff, his cracked smile hiding from the view of the others. "If only they had trusted in the magic of our ancestors, they'd know that the ducks are piecing together victory as we speak."  
  
The three ducks in the Anaheim Pond were quickly preparing for the imminent arrival of Draguanus' ship, struggling to get the Aerowing packed for emergencies and having the shields up to full power to enable a strong defense. Wildwing was busy trying to reroute power to the Pond's shields when the screen of the ready room emitted a beep, as if he was being contacted. A little surprised, Wildwing looked up from his work, pushing the button and facing the screen. He almost jumped back when he saw Tanya's face, and immediately called for the others.  
  
"Tanya? What's going on?!" Wildwing almost was too anxious to put together his words right.  
  
"We are in a computer station on the west end of the ship. Nosedive is injured and we need to get him back to the infirmary." Wildwing could feel the uncomfortable lump in his throat begin to rise with he incoming thought of his brother injured. "I believe I can deactivate the shields, but only for a minute. We need the Aerowing here, so we can get Nosedive back and get you guys in here to help us stop Draguanus." Duke suddenly appeared on the screen, helping to support Nosedive. Wildwing and his newly arriving friends returned looks of concern; especially after they caught small sights of blood on his uniform.  
  
"We'll be there in a few minutes, Tanya, just hold on." Wildwing adopted his tone of leadership, wanting to do his best under the circumstances. Tanya sent him a small visual, showing the sight of the computing station, and he and the others jumped aboard the Aerowing, blazing from the Pond and towards Draguanus' ship, which had then officially crossed over the Anaheim border, the streets below cold in the shadow of the behemoth in the skies. Approaching it within a few minutes, the ducks immediately sunk below weapons range and scaled up underneath it, coming up on its left side. Its roaring engines could be heard faintly in the computing station, where Tanya was ready to put her plan into action.  
  
"Use an explosive puck and destroy the wall." She told Duke, who quickly took his puck launcher and fired. Three pucks later, the wall had finally collapsed and outside, in the night sky, on the other side of the shield, was the Aerowing.  
  
"Alright, get Nosedive over there." Tanya pointed over to the hole, prompting Duke to help Nosedive as he limped over to the sight of the Aerowing.  
  
"Deactivating shields…now!" Tanya pressed the button, immediately running over to the others as the Aerowing moved in, its door opening to allow Mallory and Grin to leap out. They helped Nosedive aboard while Tanya jumped off the ship, heading to the cockpit to relieve Wildwing of pilot duty.  
  
"I'll take Nosedive back, you better go with the others." Tanya said, the white mallard smiling and getting up to allow the female to take the controls. Heading to the back, he took a split second to give a glance to Nosedive, wanting to help him, but he knew what had to be done. Suddenly, the ship had rocked violently, as the firing weapons of the United States Army had crashed into the hull of the ship, heavily damaging its exterior. Upon the new opportunity, the army kicked up the attack, unmercifully battering it. Wildwing made a death-defying leap into the computer station, before Tanya took the Aerowing away, heading back to the Pond at top speed.  
  
"Maybe one should of us should have gone with them." Wildwing watched the ship grow smaller on the horizon.  
  
"The situation's too grave for that." Mallory rationalized, putting a hand of Wildwing's shoulder as he turned around to face the rest of the team.  
  
"Here fearless leader…" Duke took out the mask of Drake DuCaine, and extended it out to the white mallard. "The Kid wants you to have it." With a heavy heart, Wildwing placed the mask back over his face, the feeling of familiarity helping him to cope with the situation and clear his thoughts to concentrate on the task at hand.  
  
"So how do we get to Draguanus?" Mallory turned to Duke, her eyes quickly scanning the interior of the room, all new to her.  
  
"Tanya told me where it is. I know where a broken elevator shaft is. I'll lead the way." Duke quickly motioned for the others to come, which they complied, following the mallard as he twisted around corners and dashed down hallways. His team blindly followed, unable to question him since they had no idea where they were going. Upon reaching the elevator shaft and stopping for a second, Wildwing looked around, using the mask.  
  
"The shields are back up."  
  
"Means we can't turn back now." Mallory replied, cocking her puck blaster.  
  
"Just my kind of attitude." Duke flashed her one of his trademark grins, before his eyes readjusted to their determinate look, climbing up the wires of the shaft, the others at his heels.  
  
"Those ducks deactivated my shields!!!" Draguanus picked up one of his robot drones and smashed it against the wall, spare parts bouncing off the metallic walls and littering the floor around the saurians.  
  
"We got them back…" Chameleon tried to pacify Dragunaus' irritability, but it did nothing but earn him a rattling by his boss, staring coldly into his eyes.  
  
"The ship is now heavily damaged, and who knows what the ducks have done in the two minutes they were down!"  
  
"They still have to go through us, Lord Draguanus. We won't disappoint." Siege confidently stood, crossing his arms, and looking towards the door. Wraith approached his livid master and began to murmur.  
  
"The ducks on-board have switched off, Lord Dragunaus."  
  
"And how do you know?"  
  
"What else? The saurian magic tells me. Soon, the team will arrive here, minus two teammates. Wildwing is back in command…with the mask." Wraith recited, narrowly dodging a fist as it effortlessly flew through the air, its owner growling in anger.  
  
"Damnit! This can't be happening?!" Draguanus felt ready to kill, the rage of his ancestor's blood burning with a new level of fury. He couldn't believe that his prized plan was beginning to fall apart three days after it had kicked off. Months of planning was now riding on the coming battle, and the saurian grew less confident knowing that the ducks' leader was back on the front line, once again donning his symbol of unity and strength. Sure, his enemies were a bit depleted since the youngest was seriously hurt, but he knew that would only make the others more driven to succeed. He groaned, looking over his misshapen followers. They were not in the right mind-frame; they could quickly fall to the ducks and without much effort. He still prepared himself nevertheless. If the ducks wanted a fight, they would get it.  
  
Tanya was able to pilot the Aerowing, back to the Pond, with only a few close calls from the incoming weapons, pummeling Draguanus' warship. Unfortunately, the shields were back up, but the duck grinned to herself. It had been two minutes, twice as long as she thought it would take until the shields were reactivated. Maybe the saurians had lost their touch? Regardless, she concentrated on landed in the Pond, the quietness of their home a bit unnerving. Running into the infirmary, Tanya returned to the Aerowing with a stretcher, and looked to Nosedive. He seemed to have lost conscious during the whole operation, but now, his eyes fluttered weakly as he struggled to hold his head up.  
  
"Tauny?"  
  
"Yeah, don't worry. We're in the Pond."  
  
"The…others?" Nosedive gave a deep, labored breath. He was obviously in a lot of pain.  
  
"They are taking care of it. Don't worry about it…let's get you medical attention." Tanya tried to help Nosedive as he struggled to pull himself to the side of the Aerowing. He gave a last ditch effort to crawl upon the stretcher, before he collapsed into it, struggling to keep conscious as she wheeled him rapidly into the infirmary.  
  
Tanya rolled him onto the bed, his soft groans echoing the humming of machines as they began taking readings. Tanya connected a variety of patches and tubes to the teen, removing his shirt and getting a better look at the wounds. His left side was especially unnerving, with the blood and bruises mixed together in a patchwork of pain. Tanya immediately knew that exploratory surgery would need to be done to pinpoint the problem. She took out a gas mask and gave the concerned Nosedive a sympathetic look.  
  
"Nosedive, I need to perform surgery. To do that, you need to take in this gas. It will help you sleep."  
  
"…Ok, Tauny…" Nosedive muttered laboriously as the gas mask was placed on his beak. Within seconds, he eyes rolled over and the tensing of his aching muscles subsided as he drifted into a deep slumber.  
  
The Mighty Ducks were quickly approaching the site of their final battle. Meeting minimal resistance among the scattered robot drones, the team grew more focused on taking down the ship. The sound of weapons fire and the explosion of a building every so often forced the mallards to push their feet faster. Within a few minutes, Duke caught the attention of his allies when he stopped in front of a giant door, behind that would be the final stand for the saurians.  
  
"Mallory, take down the door. Get back and prepare your puck blasters!" the masked Wildwing shouted off, standing next to the red-haired duck as she locked her puck blaster on its target. With the shot of an explosive puck, the door began to whine as it faced the incredible stress of a direct hit. Soon, the other ducks had joined in with a chorus of shots. The door twisted and bent, trying desperately to hold on before it finally succumbed to a forceful kick by Wildwing, his leadership seemed to truly be at its best in months.  
  
The ducks followed their leader as he ascended into the room, facing off in a deadly gaze against Draguanus, standing up in front of the anti-gravity device. A small contingency of robot drones took the front lines, while the three saurian followers took to the back, guarding the path to Draguanus himself. Wildwing slowly backed a step and stopped a small shower of laser blasts with his armor as the rest of the ducks took cover behind him and nearly consoles, striking back with a flurry of flaming pucks. It didn't take long before the robots began to shatter, small explosions and fiery chunks of machinery flying in scattered directions, forcing Chameleon to duck behind Siege and causing slight injury to many of the participants. The ducks stood up, all behind the masked mallard who took the first step, the strength of his voice striking a chord of loyalty within his fellow teammates.  
  
"Give it up Draguanus! It's all over!"  
  
"You won't take this ship down! ATTACK!" he bellowed, immediately unleashing Siege, while Wraith and Chameleon backed up their ally with fireballs and laser shots.  
  
Wildwing took on Siege directly, facing the saurian's massive fists and various taunts. With a puck shot to distract him, Wildwing delivered a kick to Siege's torso, making him reel back. Mallory and Duke returned fire upon Wraith and Chameleon, allowing Grin to jump into the battle, shouldering Siege, who was taken off balance and barreled off towards the side of the room, among the scattered remains of the robotic drones. He jumped back up, wiping off some beads of sweat as he dashed for the two larger ducks. However, to take the ducks by surprise, Siege made a sudden stop, forcing the two to become momentary surprised as another powerful force rammed into them, driving the two ducks into the consoles near the entrance to the room. Mallory and Duke were too busy ducking fireballs to notice Chameleon shifted into a greenish copy of Siege, now evening the playing field of brute strength. Draguanus watched, hoping that his allies would be able to maintain the momentum of the battle swinging in their favor. They definitely knew the team was at a disadvantage when a full third of the ducks were missing. The saurian overlord didn't want to take the chance to gloat over the possible results any longer and jumped into the battle himself. Approaching Wildwing, he picked the mallard up, tossing him to Mallory and Duke, which dropped their weapons to attempt to catch him. Instead, they all fell in a heap to the floor, Chameleon breaking out into applause for his master, hoping to earn an extra bonus point with a quick stroke his ego.  
  
"Excellent job, Master!" he beamed, facing a quick frown from Siege, but the dragon didn't fall for the compliment. "Never mind me, take care of him!" he growled to his two lackeys, pointing one of his sharpened claws towards Grin, who got back up to his feet.  
  
Mallory was the first to notice that Wraith and Draguanus was converging on their position and tried to cease their approach by rattling off pucks to the two enemies. Draguanus, suffering from the rage of his heritage, mindlessly smacked a couple of pucks away with his hand, ignoring the injuries from the flaming projectiles. Wraith had stopped in his tracks and decided to use the pucks to his advantage, freezing them in saurian fire and sending them on a reverse course, forcing the now awakening Duke and Wildwing to groggily scatter to avoid being hit. Duke incidentally rolled right towards Draguanus, who picked him up and shook him violently.  
  
"You want to stop me now?!" he flicked a claw and brought it to the gray mallard's throat with primal threats.  
  
"Watch out!" Wraith's warning came just a second to late as Draguanus was sent flying back by a sudden kick to his gut by Wildwing, grabbing his friend out of mid-air and landing gracefully on the ground.  
  
Mallory leaped over the control panel and attempted to sweep Wraith's feet in his tiny lapse, but the saurian froze her in place, sending her plummeting into the nearest wall, slowly sinking to the ground, inches from unconsciousness. On the other side of the room, Grin was forced to dodge between two sets of fists, unable to get a foothold on either one. He backed up to the wall, luring Siege into striking with all his force, his fist momentarily stuck in the wall. Heading around him, Grin went to the ground, grabbing and throwing Chameleon overhead while delivered a quick chop to the back of Siege's neck, rendering him immobile for the time being.  
  
"Rest easy…you have earned your sleep." Grin gave a bow, turning to the dazed Chameleon, and over to here friends. Draguanus was already on the attack again, clawing at Wildwing, who tried to keep the overlord from the others.  
  
Leaping out of the way, Duke took out his blade and tried to chop a couple of stray pucks under the control of Wraith. Landing at the hooded saurian's feet, he looked up with arched eyebrows, a sly smile forming on his lips.  
  
"So, ya ready to go one-on-one?"  
  
"Poor duck, you can't even begin to comprehend my abilities." Wraith snickered, taking a quick step back, stopping Duke in mid-air as he tried to lunge for the saurian. However, Wraith's magic was not effective when Grin rammed his side, forcing the sorcerer into the distant wall, near Mallory, who was back up at her feet.  
  
"You'll pay for that, you scaly creep!" she grit her teeth, taking out a small puck blaster and aiming it at his head. With a stunning shot, he was taken into slumber and the second saurian disabled in combat.  
  
Chameleon and Draguanus both realized their allies have been taken out of commission, so they moved together, trying to time their attacks accordingly to avoid the same fate as their allies. However, going against four ducks wasn't as easy. As Draguanus was competent enough to disarm Duke and knock him into Mallory, spilling them to the floor once again, Wildwing and Grin overpowered Chameleon, sending him rolling backwards, trying to clear his head.  
  
"Up here!" Dragunaus headed up the short staircase to where the anti- gravity device was. Draguanus operated the defensive mechanisms and soon the guns began blasting, placing the ducks off the offensive as scraps of litter decorated the room in a destructive hail. Chameleon took the opportunity to confront Duke, knocking him out with a punch and rummaging through his pockets before Grin could prevent his thievery. The saurian gleefully danced away from the approaching enemy, holding up his and Seige's coms and transporters like a prize, taking cover behind the gunfire and trying to wake his partner up. Wildwing dove behind a console, next to Mallory who checked over her ammo and wiped away a small dot of blood from her beak.  
  
"What's the plan, Wildwing!?" she grunted nosily as she barely missed a laser blast, which singed the side of the console.  
  
"Let's try and take out the guns. Do you have any gas pucks left?" Wildwing asked as Mallory quickly checked her belt.  
  
"Two."  
  
"Give me one. We'll fire them both, and hopefully make our way up there and destroy the guns close range."  
  
Mallory complied and Draguanus watched as twin pucks went flying in his direction, Knocking one away, the other ricocheted off a gun, stuck in the barrel as it began to steam and hiss. The dragon growled as he heard the guns turning down their attack, trying to scan for the guns in the enveloping mist.  
  
"Damn those ducks…." Draguanus lowered his head closer to the ground, barely catching a sight of Wildwing, trying to come up from the side.  
  
Grin and Duke watched their two teammates try to approach the mist-coated platform to take care of the guns as the saurians began to stir a bit. Duke went towards Wraith and saw the hooded one returning a quick glance.  
  
"Round two?" Duke held his blade ready, but the saurian only stood up, holding himself up on his staff.  
  
"What's the point…this battle is useless."  
  
"What?!" Duke was a bit dumbfounded. Certainly, one of Draguanus' own lackeys could be turning down the opportunity at more mindless violence.  
  
"Magic could have made the difference, but Lord Draguanus wouldn't capitalize on it."  
  
"What do ya mean!?" Duke grew impatient with Wraith's dry tone, and tensed up a little bit.  
  
"Tell me something, former thief. How are the brothers doing?" Wraith shot him a small glance, sinister intentions hiding behind it. It took Duke a couple seconds until his mind shot up with the realization.  
  
"You were doing that…"  
  
"It could have worked if Draguanus would wake up from this delusional fantasy." Wraith tapped the steel wall with his long, aged claw in a rhythmic tone.  
  
"Scum!" Duke tried to attack, but Wraith vanished in a puff of smoke before the blade could meet his form. Duke recovered from the moment to see Dragunaus directly tackling Wildwing, the two wrestling on the ground.  
  
On the other side, Mallory was able to penetrate the mist, and holding her breath, she was able to take out a couple of the guns with some well placed puck blasts. Grin backed her up, now that Chameleon and Siege were both starting to get up. The duck was able to clothesline the two to the ground again, this time sending Chameleon back to his original form and causing Siege to grow infuriated, popping up and now gripped in a power struggle with the large duck.  
  
"I'm going to smash you into glue…" Siege roared in an almost primitive tone, trying to capture the upper edge against the duck.  
  
"You are sending out too much bad karma…" Grin suddenly was able to turn, forcing Siege to follow as he flew out of Grin's grip and landing on top of a group on consoles, collapsing in a heap. "Bad karma will always equal poor results." Grin bowed, brushing his hands together as he turned towards Chameleon.  
  
"Shall you attempt to spread your tainted karma as well?" he turned to small green saurian. He gave a little nervous chuckle and morphed into a cowboy.  
  
"Well, pardner, I think it's time I skedaddle!" he grinned, activating his transporter and vanishing in a flash of light.  
  
Dragunaus, at this point, following the transportation of Siege, realized he was alone. Throwing the Mighty Ducks leader off of him, he staggered to his feet, seeing the ducks surround him and the mist freeze, seeing that the anti-gravity device was now unprotected.  
  
"This ship is going down…" Wildwing growled under the mask, aiming his gauntlet to the device while keeping his eyes fixated on the saurian leader.  
  
"Stop ducks! This is it!" Draguanus took out a small remote and held it tightly in his hands. "No games, no time…I press this and we all go down instantly!" he laughed manically, demanding their unconditional surrender.  
  
The ducks slowly put down their weapons and held their hands up, exchanging despairing glances while the deep voice of their captor continued to laugh and gloat. Suddenly, his smile grew to something the ducks never saw before…something almost suicidal.  
  
"I won't let you win ducks…no tricks. It ends now!!!" to every duck's total shock and Wildwing's accompanying scream, Draguanus slammed his finger down on the button…  
  
(Editor: Perfect place to end…but this cliffhanger is just too cruel…)  
  
…  
  
…  
  
…  
  
Tanya was operating on Nosedive in the infirmary when she heard the sudden blaring of the Drake One's alarm. Hands covered in blood and other bodily fluids, she yelled out for the infirmary view screen, which the Drake One complied, unfolding a small screen out of the wall and activating it, showing Draguanus' warship in the distance. It was nearing the Pond, and soon within a couple of minutes, it would be in range. Tanya said a silent prayer, hoping the other ducks would stop Dragunaus before it was too late. She tensed up as she returned to Nosedive, knowing that there was nothing she could do, especially with Nosedive in such a dire position that he would suffer fatal trauma if she tried evacuating now. Washing her hands, she readjusted her glasses and gave a slight thought to the situation. Her beak began to droop in awe to see the ship begin to buckle...a precursor to its defeat…  
  
General Schwartz looked out his command and to his missile launchers, belching smoke as they suffered with fatigue after so much action. They were able to get in about two minutes of damage on the ship, damaging it heavily before their weapons began to deflect again. The soldier scratched his head and wiped away sweat in frustration. His dirt-painted face turned down to one of his nearby men, who looked out over Anaheim, his young eyes swimming with fear.  
  
"Something bothering you, Pickerman?" his gaze fell upon the youth, about twenty years old, with a rough complexion, marked with concern upon viewing the whole scene.  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
"About that isn't it?" the old soldier's gaze was again leveled upon the ship, now hovering over the outer rim of Anaheim.  
  
"What if we can't stop, sir? I know we hit it…but now we can't again. What can we do sir?" their glances met, the youth desperately in need of something reassuring, which the old soldier saw. The many faces among his crowd was painted with similar fears and lost hope.  
  
"We can…pray." The general turned out over the scene again, saying a silent prayer to himself. When it had ended, the excited chorus of screams rose among the crowd with hands outstretched.  
  
"It's falling!"  
  
"It's blowing up!"  
  
"Oh my God!"  
  
General Schwartz looked out over the scene as the ship began to sunk into the streets below, vacant buildings reduced to rubble as the ship began to explode in a large pillar of fire, shooting out to the heavens above, helping to light the sky as the sun softly began to shine over the horizon. The soldiers were cheering and hugging each other. Even tears were shared between the men and women of the army as they saw their doom lifted as if God's omnipotent hand came down and smite it personally. The general breathed a deep sigh as he continued to watch the ship boil and burn, the sun painting it in a vivid bath of rich, warm tones. All the destruction actually turned out with something almost beautiful.  
  
Wildwing had froze for a moment in time…Draguanus had pushed the button. Realizing he had a mere second to live, his thoughts were immediately to his brother, wasting away in an infirmary bed, all alone. A tear had escaped his eye as his last shred of life began to fall apart…  
  
…  
  
…but nothing happened. The ducks all looked at themselves, their fear and shock still painted on their faces as they started to peer over at each other. They were alive! Dragunaus now shared in the expression of surprise, looking at the remote in his hands, angrily screaming at it.  
  
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! This is the television remote!" he screamed, throwing it aside while the ducks gave each other puzzled glances.  
  
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Wildwing shouted out, the mask coldly staring down the enemy, who returned it with an equally enraged stare.  
  
"All my planning…all of it…"  
  
"GONE!" Wildwing fired to interrupt, destroying the anti-gravity device in a brilliant flash of light. "Next question?"  
  
"This isn't done…it won't end here. I'll come back…"  
  
"And when you do, we'll wipe the floor with ya again like always!" Duke gave another dashing grin, his old confidence beginning to revive itself.  
  
Draguanus fizzled away in an emerald light as the ducks began to feel pangs of vertigo. The ship was slowly beginning to sink, but surprisingly, things began to sparkle and explode as the army delivered its final blows to the ship, to send it to its grave of shattered urbanity. The ducks quickly took to the halls, Duke directing them in a straight line as explosions racked the neighboring corridors and rooms. They all drew to a sudden halt when the ground began to fall away, revealing the approaching Earth below. Knowing they'd never be able to steer the ship away, escape was now their only choice.  
  
"Alright…this won't be fun, but let's go!" Duke took the initiative, leaping down of the hole, directly out of the ship and plummeting to the ground below. Wildwing followed, Mallory and Grin close behind. As they felt in incredible rush of air force their lungs to expel, the caught sight of the Pond close by and the glimmering of something approaching. Suddenly, the Aerowing shot out from the buildings, flying to the ducks and shooting ropes to each other them. Duke grabbed his and the others soon followed, breathing heavily as the ship ended their fall and began to head back to the Pond, taking them out of range of the ship's incoming form, about to crash into the Earth. Climbing into the Aerowing, Wildwing went to the cockpit and found Tanya driving.  
  
"Tanya!" Mallory answered for him, running up to her in an expression of relief. Their eyes had turned as the ship crashed into the ground, beginning to explode in a violent inferno.  
  
"Let's get back to the Pond, and NOW!" she said, Wildwing taking the neighboring seat, catching sight of Grin and Duke as they began to fly back to their base for cover.  
  
"We finally got him…" Duke whispered to himself, watching the fire engulf the object as it grew increasingly smaller. "That was for you Kid."  
  
"How's Nosedive?" Wildwing said, taking off his mask and showing a bit or worry in his voice. That brotherly concern was beginning to return.  
  
"Critical…I need to get back to him right away." Tanya's somber voice put a small dent in all of the celebration.  
  
"Is he…" Duke began to ask.  
  
"No…I still got him, but I had to leave during his surgery to get you guys. The machines are keeping him going." Tanya remarked, sighing as the Aerowing touched down in the ready room.  
  
That night was not a good one for the heroes of Anaheim. The news was swamped with the good news that the mysterious craft has been sunk and completely destroyed by the American army, though the clean up of the city would take many months. At the same time as the army had took all the credit, the ducks faced the ominous silence from the infirmary, where Tanya was working late into the night. Wildwing paced back and forth, out of his mask and battle armor, refusing to say a word or turn his gaze from the floor. The ducks could only watch, concerned for their leader. Duke had also grown very quiet, his cockiness was now completely muted as he sat, completely still as he awaited Tanya to come out and announce Nosedive's condition. Late into the night, Tanya came out, looking very tired, but still with heavy concern etched into her face.  
  
"I have good news and bad news…"  
  
"Good news?" Wildwing looked at her, his voice slightly hoarse and shaky.  
  
"I think I can save him." The ducks all released their breath in relieved sighs and began to form small smiles. However, they knew that there more news, and this time Duke decided to ask, fearing the worst.  
  
"And the bad news?"  
  
"…I need a blood transfusion or Nosedive will die." Tanya's sullen expression caught Wildwing's attention, rolling up his arm immediately.  
  
"Take all you need from me." He spoke up, drawing the attention of the others. Duke stood up, offering his share, along with each of the others in turn.  
  
"It's not that easy…Nosedive doesn't have a very common type of blood…there's a chance that no one is compatible…even brothers, Wildwing."  
  
"One of has to be…we just have to be." Wildwing responded slightly defensively, the denial shining through his mellow words. "Test us all out and get my little brother the help he needs!"  
  
Tanya started to carry out the tests, pricking each duck (except herself, because it was already determined she was not a match) with the needle and taking a small sample of blood. The unfortunate term was that the test took an hour to perform, leaving Nosedive to wait, as he was stuck in an unconscious state, machines around him beeping to confirm to the others he was still alive. For that long hour, two ducks stared down at the teen and then to each other, in a united silence. Wildwing could see in his eyes that Duke had the same feelings for Nosedive as he did, and the reminders of their last confrontation were continuing to play in his mind. Wildwing knew that he had to say something, to clear the air between them and set things right before Nosedive would wake up. He shifted a bit at first, uncomfortably leaning his weight on alternating legs, but soon the silence broke when he looked up to the gray mallard, who in return, started to watch him, knowing there was something on his mind.  
  
"Look, Duke…" Wildwing started to say, watched the gray mallard's affectionate hand gently running through the blonde hair of his brother as their eyes met. "I'm sorry…about what I said to you earlier."  
  
"Don't worry about it."  
  
"No, you're right. I was so stuck on leading the ducks that I forgot how much Dive meant to me. My little brother is the most important duck in my life, and I can't forget that. I feel terrible that I kept him away, pushing him aside without any thought. Now that he's like this…and the fact we don't talk anymore…it…just hurts…" Wildwing felt that lump in his throat, the tears beginning to form. He quickly looked away, not wanting to lose his composure in front of Duke. Confronting the pain was difficult, but he knew that this uncomfortable moment had to come, because it continued to hang over their heads like a cloud until it was resolved.  
  
"Wildwing…" Duke tried to help the white mallard, noticing the shaky voice that would soon introduce tears, but his leader only started to speak again.  
  
"Duke…thanks for giving him an ear when I wouldn't…I failed him…I wouldn't listen…I'm sorry baby bro, please forgive me." Wildwing shifted to Nosedive, grabbing his limp hands and putting them in his own, keeping them warm and protected.  
  
Bending over, Wildwing put his beak up to the ear of Nosedive and began to whisper, the first of his tears unable to be controlled.  
  
"I love you, Dive…always." Two small droplets fell, rolling down one of Nosedive's blonde strands of hair to the pillow, staining it softly. Duke watched, feeling his own emotions being tugged at, but the older duck was able to prevent himself from doing the same.  
  
"You'll get him back fearless leader…he still loves you…he always has. That's what he told me…you are his hero." Duke was trying to give Wildwing some peace, testing his words as they met up with the dam of tears building up in the young mallard, struggling to resist as he sat back up, his large hands still engulfing his brother's and squeezing gently.  
  
"I don't feel like a hero anymore."  
  
"But you are. The kid knows ya have responsibilities…he didn't want to bother…"  
  
"That's no excuse. I should have noticed. That's what brothers are for…not to turn a deaf ear to their little brother, the same one that gave me reason to live after all those miserable nights in the prison camps."  
  
"Wildwing, things happen and things change. He knows you loved him…"  
  
"Did he?" Wildwing quickly wiped away another stray tear and kept staring at his brother, passing him a warm smile.  
  
"Of course he did."  
  
"I promise you, baby bro, I won't ever take you for granted again. You've always been my support and now that I almost lost you…" Wildwing grew silent, he closed his eyes, struggling to hold up the barrier of tears that had threatened to fall. It's not he didn't want to cry, but he wanted to present an optimistic mood for Nosedive, since he had always played the role in the past.  
  
At that difficult moment, Tanya came in and held up the results of the test. Those papers were everything on the ducks' minds at tham moment since they held the future of the teenager in its contents. The two heavy- hearted mallards followed Tanya, out into the hall, where the other ducks had gathered. They all gathered around in an uneasy silence, all quiet, every eye on the small package of paper in Tanya's hands.  
  
"I haven't looked at the results yet…" She noted before opening up the packet. It seemed like forever that her eyes meticulously scanned the paper, and the ducks watched for her expression, all riding on that twisting of the beak. They all started to feel excited and relieved when it began to form a weak smile.  
  
"Thank the Great King for brothers…" she put a hand of Wildwing's shoulders as he got a small bit of celebratory cheering from his friends. The white mallard returned with a large smile, hugging Tanya tightly and almost beginning to cry before he recovered and assumed his stance once again.  
  
"Let's do it…" Wildwing said, accompanying Tanya into the infirmary. Disappearing behind the doors to the medical bay, Duke turned to the other ducks.  
  
"I have a feeling things are going to be all right."  
  
"Me too, Duke", Mallory replied happily, rubbing her sleepy eyes and slowly heading out towards the living room with the others. "Me too…"  
  
THE END  
  
(There will be an epilogue for those who want to read more on the ducks as they start to drift back towards normalcy. That will be what some would call the "mushy" part, so if you are looking for action, you can skip over it and call this a wrap.) 


End file.
